Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley says heritage concerns over a planned major hotel project in St James, will be respected, but Barbados must attract investment and meet the expectations of people seeking jobs in tourism.
Addressing the St Peter Ideas Forum at the Haymans Market on Monday night, she said there will be discussions with concerned citizens such as veteran water sports operator and former candidate in St James North Austin Husbands, who expressed opposition to building a multi-storeyed hotel at Holetown on a heritage site.
“The buildings at that site in Holetown are not historic. It is the site that is historic. We will continue to have the conversations but believe you me, if this country does not invite the investment to be able to build out what we have, we will not be able to sustain our quality of life.”
She said “people are looking for jobs” in the tourism sector.
Progress
“We have an ageing hotel plant that cannot sustain the quality of life that we have. At the end of the day, the country has to have progress. We have to be able to create jobs.”
The Prime Minister promised that there will be corridors to the sea in St James, which was a hot topic at a recent town hall meeting with the Coastal Zone Management Unit which is developing a spatial plan to regulate the economic marine zone around the island and ensure benefits for the country.
Mottley also spoke to issues of irregular public transportation and replacement of water mains in northern parishes amid concerns of poor quality of water raised by a Coleridge & Parry School student.
She said the Transport Board was hoping to increase the fleet of buses to 120 and plans to roll out a software application in coming months which would alert commuters to the times buses are scheduled to arrive at a bus stop. She implored chief executive officer of the Barbados Transport Board, Fabian Wharton, to ensure mapping of locations was thorough.
Mottley explained that commuters would download the app and be in a better position to plan their travelling by knowing when buses would be reaching destinations.
It was noted that the plan was to incorporate private and public transportation in a streamlined approach with regulation, standards and training.
Water concerns
Water concerns were being addressed, stated director of engineering with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) Charles Leslie. He said 20 kilometres of mains had been replaced while a further 20 kilometres were being tackled. Filtering of “brown” water, a persistent concern, particularly for residents in the northern parishes, was also being dealt with, Leslie added.
The Prime Minister reiterated that there has been decade of neglect of mains which has led to rusting of pipes.
The development of music in schools, the film industry, sporting organisations at the community level and health of the elderly were other areas raised during presentations by a number of residents.
A new hospital to replace the former Geriatric Hospital will in part free up beds at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and allow for more patients seen at the Accident & Emergency Department to be placed on wards, the Prime Minister noted.
Government will also be working with non-governmental organisations to improve care for the elderly at the community level. There was an expression of support for the Church of God in Speightstown, where committee member Neville Cato said a day care centre for the elderly was 20 per cent short of funding to complete the building project.
Mottley said an ageing population has led to gaps in skills, not only in dental areas but in types of construction work. To plug these gaps, Government has been reaching out to countries in Africa as well as India, she told the gathering.
Every two months, the Office of Citizens Engagement will be sending recommendations to Cabinet for review and implementation, the Prime Minister stated.
(HH)
